Nauru (2001) | Lesotho (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.33% (male 2,510; female 2,365) 15-64 years: 57.97% (male 3,475; female 3,533) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 103; female 102) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994) 15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404) 65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 29 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Upon achieving independence in 1968, Nauru became the smallest independent republic in the world; it joined the UN in 1999. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | 27.22 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$23.4 million expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96) |
revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District | Maseru |
Climate | tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February) | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 30 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 29 January 1968 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Nauru conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 7.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $33.3 million | $720 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru | chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) | $123.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Revenues of this tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within five to ten years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as demand has fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal cost of extracting the remaining phosphate increases, making it less internationally competitive. While phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. The government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a freezing of wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. Tens of billions of dollars have been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's per capita GDP varying widely. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of substantial privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (1999) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) | maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 19 April 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 19 April 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 8 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Bernard DOWIYOGO elected president by a vote in Parliament of nine to eight note: former President Rene HARRIS was deposed in a no-confidence vote; this is the eighth change of government in Nauru since the fall of the Lagumont HARRIS government in a no-confidence motion in early November 1996; six of the last eight governments have resulted because of parliamentary no-confidence motions |
chief of state:
King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991) | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) |
Exports - partners | Australia, NZ | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $59 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 32 S, 166 55 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total:
30 km paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.) |
total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
Imports | $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991) | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) |
Imports - partners | Australia, UK, NZ, Japan | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) |
Independence | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, financial services, coconut products | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -3.6% (1993) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, ICAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | - | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 18 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002
elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1 note: results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections. |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
61.2 years male: 57.7 years female: 64.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. |
Military branches | no regular armed forces; Directorate of the Nauru Police Force | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
3,018 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,661 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Nauruan(s) adjective: Nauruan |
noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | phosphates | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [Bernard DOWIYOGO] | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 12,088 (July 2001 est.) | 2,177,062
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49.2% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 1.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Nauru | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 7,000 (1997) | 104,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
5 km; note - used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast |
total:
2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate local and international radiotelephone communications provided via Australian facilities domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment:
rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1996) | 20,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 450 (1994) | 1,262 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.61 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |